


EVER AFTER

by shinohajime



Series: Conversation Hearts [2]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Happy Ending, affectionate bunnies are affectionate, so many possible ships tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 10:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9887750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinohajime/pseuds/shinohajime
Summary: Ra*bits are no longer an active unit, and parted on less than happy terms. Hajime meets up with Tomoya and Mitsuru to reconcile and, of course, he's way more anxious about it than he needs to be. They talk a little about the coming school year- their third year- and consider their relationship.





	

For the first time in quite a while, Hajime’s shoulders are tight with anxiety. It’s ridiculous, he thinks, his hands passing a lavender pouch back and forth on the table, trembling faintly while he pretends they aren’t. No matter what, Ra*bits are a family, even when they’re distant; even when they’re fighting; even when they’ll never sing together again.

 

That thought makes him sad, but the disagreement makes him tense, and he can deal better with sadness than tension. Guiltily, Hajime can’t help his excitement about the coming year, but he wants to be able to look forward without guilt, and he knows he can’t do that until he sees Tomoya and Mitsuru at least one more time.

 

They had let Hajime choose their meeting place. Maybe they knew how the stress must be getting to him and wanted to make it easier- of course. They would be that thoughtful, even now. Especially Tomoya. For Mitsuru, Hajime suspects it’s more a matter of indifference. In any case, the cafe is Hajime’s favorite; it’s full of lush, well-loved plants and smells of jasmine and sometimes patchouli. The music is soft and unobtrusive, and Hajime finds the white noise welcome. If he focuses on how many other people are here and could be judging his nervous fidgeting and eventually what might be a final falling out with his best friends, he’ll break, so he fixes his attention hard on the music and the pleasant smells instead. It helps.

 

Hajime has finally set down his lavender pouch and is taking an indulgent drink of his green tea when Tomoya and Mitsuru walk in. The bell dings pleasantly to greet them and Hajime’s face fills with heat.

 

It’s been months. They’ve watched each other grow since middle school- Hajime is used to their subtle changes- but that time apart is enough to make them new to him, and just a little time does so much to boys their age.

 

Tomoya has been growing sleek and handsome since early in their second year, but the confidence is new. Hajime is rapt and maybe a little awed at how he steers Mitsuru to the counter and flashes the barista an easy, charming smile. Dread settles in, just a little- what if he’s just too  _ cool _ to reconcile with Hajime, now?- but Hajime still feels his heart swell, and by the time Tomoya and Mitsuru are making their way towards him, Hajime is smiling despite his fears.

 

Mitsuru has changed, too. He’s taking off his coat to drape over the back of his chair, and Hajime can’t help but notice how defined his muscles are, even though he still has such a cute baby face. He must have been working out all this time, because this isn’t just natural development into young adulthood- it’s the product of effort. Hajime thinks it in bewilderment, but Mitsuru’s fear of becoming too big and too masculine for the Ra*bits image really has come true, now.

 

Yet here they are. Sitting at a tiny cafe table, grinning at each other like silly little boys. Hajime feels tears in his eyes. He can’t believe he ever thought they couldn’t come together again.

 

“God, Hajime, you look-” Tomoya seems flustered, but elated, and his hands fly out to wrap around Hajime’s, around his mug. “I missed you too much. This- this was really silly.”

 

“It was,” Hajime says, and he’s confused when Mitsuru’s already out of his seat and striding over to him. Then he’s giggling when strong, eager arms settle around him, hiding his face against a firm bicep. Hajime’s taller, too, but he’s sure that Mitsuru could easily pick him up if he wanted.

 

For a while, they talk about things other than their defunct unit. It’s not a purposeful avoidance of the topic; it feels natural. Questions about families and part-time jobs and general check-ins seem more important, and Hajime notices that they barely stop touching, even briefly. Knees press together and hands rest one on top of the other and he’d think it accidental, if Mitsuru didn’t beam at Hajime for it each time, or if Tomoya didn’t meet his eyes when their hands touched.

 

Hajime can’t help but remember the four of them napping together after practices all through their first year, into their second, before the tradition slowly faded. The ache returns to his chest.

 

Finally, Mitsuru asks. “Has anyone told niichan?” He doesn’t seem oblivious to the weight of it, just sure of his question. Unafraid. Hajime sucks in a breath and Tomoya’s face hardens, but after some silence, he nods.

 

“After we decided,” Tomoya says, “I felt like- it was my duty, as the leader. The person niichan trusted with that responsibility. I talked to him for a long time.”

 

“Oh.” Hajime’s voice comes out flat, and he hates the sound of it. He sips at his tea. “He must’ve been… sad,” he says.

 

Tomoya licks his lips, and one shoulder rises and falls in a tiny shrug. “He was. But- he was more sad that we weren’t speaking to each other than anything else.”

 

Hajime exhales in a rush and nods, watching Mitsuru’s fingers knock his straw back and forth. That’s almost a relief. “We are now. Talking.” He lifts his eyes and finds Tomoya smiling, if a little distantly.

 

“We are.”

 

“Niichan always said we had to use our cuteness as a weapon while we could,” Mitsuru contributes, “to get where we wanted to be later. He knew this would probably happen. He told me we’d all be family no matter what.”

 

“We are,” Hajime says this time. Mitsuru looks suddenly small and shy. Hajime loves them both so much.   
  
“So!” Mitsuru’s voice is too loud, which is, at least, something familiar. “So, we’re still Ra*bits. We’ll always be Ra*bits. I’m glad that’s settled- like, so glad.” He says this as if it’s a confession. Hajime can hear a definite relief in his voice. “Uhm, so what… next. You know?”

 

Hajime’s hesitant to tell them what he has planned for the coming school year. Collectively deciding to end Ra*bits (as a unit only) is one thing, but revealing that he already has a new unit lined up seems too finite. Maybe a little treasonous. He toys with a rogue spoon on the table and clears his throat.

 

“We can be like we were,” he says in a tiny voice. “That should be very easy for us. But I- I really don’t think we can make music like we used to. I don’t think that sounds suits any of us anymore, and last we spoke, it felt like… we all want different things.”

 

“Agreed,” Tomoya says, which Hajime is only surprised by for a moment, but he realizes this is really just reaffirming what they’ve all already come to terms with. Mitsuru looks less than pleased, but he nods. Suddenly, a pang of worry stirs in Hajime’s gut- he worries that Mitsuru might have asked because he really doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore.

 

“Mitsuru-kun,” Hajime starts, but Mitsuru waves his hand around.   
  
“Don’t. Don’t worry about me.” Suddenly, he breaks into a grin- one of the sunniest kind, scrunching his eyes up like a pleased kitten. “Me’n Sora-chan have a whole big idea in the works. But I can’t tell you anything- it’s a surprise.”

 

Tomoya lifts an eyebrow and turns in his seat a little, cradling his hot chocolate in his hands and nudging Mitsuru in the leg with his knee. “Sora-chan, huh?”

 

“Nnnn!” Mitsuru squirms around in his seat, forcing Hajime to hide a grin behind his mug. He’s still such a little kid. “Don’t tease me. Yes, Sora-chan, and our unit is gonna be the best.”

 

“Uh huh. Sure.” Tomoya rolls his eyes, but he spares Hajime a wink. “Suou and I won’t let you get away with that.”

 

Silence descends for just a moment or two, and then Mitsuru bangs his hands down onto the table dramatically, leaning in close to Tomoya’s face. “Suou.”   
  
“Mmmhm.”   
  
“Suou Tsukasa.”

  
“That’s the one.”   
  
“You gotta tell me-”   
  
“It’s a surprise.”

 

Hajime really can’t believe he’d been so nervous to tell them about his project with Tori. This whole thing really has been so silly. The two boys across from him nudge each other and tease for a bit while Hajime scrolls through his phone to retrieve his earlier conversation.

 

> Hey you !!! You gotta tell me how it goes, yeah?   
> If they’re mean they’ll have to answer to ME when we get back !!!!  
> LOVE YOU ☆

 

Hajime smiles faintly, and takes the lull in his part of the conversation as a chance to respond.

 

> All is quite well, Tori-kun. I should’ve known there wouldn’t be much to worry about with these two. Thank you, and I love you too- you’ve become a very supportive friend ♪   
  
> Yeah yeah. ////

 

Tori’s reply is almost immediate. Hajime can just picture him jumping at the notification to make sure everything was going alright. He really is so lucky to have the friends he does, both within Ra*bits and outside of it.

 

“What about you, Hajime?” Tomoya finally asks, which has Hajime lifting his head and blinking owlishly. “It wouldn’t be fair if we’ve both got our own plans and you don’t have any, would it?”

 

Hajime is quiet for a moment, and that seems to give enough of an air of significance for the two to start fretting. He leans back in his chair and taps one finger against his chin, then winks. “I’m not giving any hints,” he says, his voice light and unbothered. “You’ve both already revealed too much to the competition.”

 

Mitsuru makes a long, drawn out noise, and then drapes himself over the table. Hajime lifts his mug out of the way. “Whoever it is, it’s someone who’s teaching Hajime-chan to be evil,” he mumbles. There’s just enough truth in it to make Hajime laugh, high and bright.

 

By the time they’re all finished, the official business feels finalized and filed away, and they leave the cafe to walk. For once, Tomoya and Hajime don’t fit Mitsuru between the two of them to keep him from running off. It seems like a given that he won't, which is an unusual turn. Instead, the bigger boys stand on either side of Hajime, framing him in warmth, and he alternates between tucking his arm through Tomoya’s and resting his cheek against Mitsuru’s shoulder. They don’t speak anymore. It’s unburdened and serene.    
  
Hajime knows they’ll all go home soon. The sun is setting, dying the sky pretty pinks and purples; it’s really about time to go their separate ways. But he feels clingy. He needs them around as much as possible, now that he has them back. He wants to make them come home and eat dinner with his family and then cuddle up with them for a nap until their parents want them back.

 

His house is the closest to the cafe, and neither of them seem intent on coming in when they stop outside of it, but Mitsuru squeezes Hajime around the waist, and the two of them smile.

 

“We’ll make plans,” Tomoya says. Hajime believes him. “We’ll see you very soon. Before school starts. As many times as you want.”

 

Mitsuru’s breath rises into the air in a long rush of frost before he tucks his face into his scarf. He mumbles something into the fabric, but Hajime makes it out- “Let’s never be apart that long again.”

 

Hajime chooses not to address it with words. He leaves them both with kisses on their cheeks and can’t help but watch them from the kitchen window as they start to walk away, fond of how they press close to each other to speak in low, comfortable murmurs.

 

Hajime is positive that these are two people he can grow and change with. They will all _let_ each other change, become what they need to become to be happy. They will love and support each other like Nazuna always encouraged. They will be a family of independent people with independent desires and goals. And if they ever do drift apart again, he knows with certainty, now, that it can’t possibly last forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and thanks to [Pala](http://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirloid) and [Vita](http://twitter.com/illuvitas) for the beta! I may do more with this AU if there's interest.
> 
> (UPDATE: If you think you read this fic when it was called Future Flowers you probably did- I changed its title to this because I'm doing a corny thing and naming this series after conversation hearts lines)
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/rabitsjpg) & [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/dreamfes)  
> 


End file.
